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THE 



Domestic 
Song Bird 



AN 



AUTHENTIC MANUAL 



REI^ATING KXCI.USIVEI.Y TO THE PROPER CaRE AND 

Breeding of the Canary-Bird 



By H. S. WATSON 



CINCINNATI. OHIO 

1902 



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ore. \<i t9(R9 

CfLflS*l<^XX0 No. 

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_ COPY 9. 



ENTERED WITH THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS 
AT WASHINGTON, D. C, IN ACCORDANCE WITH 
THE COPYRIGHT LAWS, BY 

H. S. WATSON, 
July 3, 1902. 



«c c c c c c 



(ii) 



PREFACE. 



THIS Manual is published in order to 
assist those who desire to promote the 
health and happiness of their canaries — to ascer- 
tain all that is essential for them to know in 
order to accomplish this. The information con- 
tained in this book has been obtained from the 
writer's own personal experiment and observa- 
tion, and if the directions herein contained are 
followed, singing birds will retain their health 
and sing for many years ; that no young bird 
hatched by good parents will be lost — except, of 
course, they meet with some unforeseen acci- 
dent. 

The remedies for the various diseases to 
which the canary-bird is possibly subject have 
been taken from the most reliable sources — ex- 
cepting the remedies for "red mites" — the birds 
of the writer never having been affected with 

(HI) 



IV PREFACE. 

any of the other ailments said to be quite com- 
mon to the canary. 

No person should keep or breed canaries un- 
less they are fond of them and can give them 
their personal attention. Their care should never 
be intrusted to careless children or forgetful 
servants. The care of a pair of breeding birds 
may be used as an object lesson in teaching and 
impressing upon the dispositions of children the 
necessity of kindness and attention to all help- 
less birds and animals ; or may be used as a 
means of recreation and employment to a cripple 
or invalid unable to move freely about, and com- 
pelled to spend many weary days or years within 
the small confines of his or her room. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction 9-15 

CHAPTER I— General Information. 

Synonyms 17 

Description of canary-bird 17 

Description of lung^s 18 

Description of stomach and g-izzard 18, 19 

Original color of canary-bird 19 

Song- of canary 19 

Habitat of original canaries 19, 20 

First introduction into Europe 20 

First trained singers 21 

How singers are trained in Italy * 21 

Number imported into the United States 21 

Breeding outfits furnished by exporters 21 

Best singers — where raised 22 

Best grade sold at home 22 

Fraud practiced 22 

German canary — description of 22, 23 

Belgian canary 23 

Cinnamon canary 23 

Norwich canary . 23 

Ivondon fancy canary 24 

lyizard canary 24 

Other varieties 24 

(v) 



VI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER II— Proper Cark and Food. 

Canary helpless if released 25 

Temperature of apartment in which kept 25 

How cag-e should be hung- 25, 26 

Care of hen canary 26 

Arrang"ement of sing-ers in apartment 26, 27 

To keep a canary lively and contented 27 

Size of cag-e 27 

Care of cag-e 28, 29 

I^ood of canaries 29 

"What to avoid feeding- a canary 30 

"When to g-ive a bath 30 

CHAPTER III— Pairing Canaries. 

"When canaries will mate 31 

Four broods enoug-h 31 

Should not be fed meat 32 

Temperaments of males 32 

Selection of male 33 

How to produce best-marked young- 33, 34 

Erratic hens 34 

Selection of hen canary 34, 35 

Pairing- two hens with one male 35 

lyong- claws on old birds 35 

CHAPTER IV— Breeding Cages. 

Size of breeding- cag-e 36 

"^^^ire-and-wood cage 36, 37 

Reg-ard for cleanliness 37 

Placing of perches in cage 37 

Placing of nests in cage 37, 38 

Arrangement of food vessels 39 

"Where cage should be hung 39, 40 

Protecting from the light 40 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTKR V— IvAYING AND HATCHING. page 

Placing" birds in the breeding- cage 41 

Placing- two hens with one male, Al, 42 

Peculiar actions of two hens in one cage 42 

Actions of male and hen 42, 43 

Actions of hen before laying 43 

Placing- materials for nest in cage 43, 44 

The first egg... 44 

When young- hatch out 45 

Caution in removing- lig-ht suddenly 45 

iig-g-bound hen 45 

Sweating- hen 46 

Barren hen and eg-g- destroyer 46, 47 

Unhatched eggs — how to test 47 

Removing- eg-gs from hen 47, 48 

Destroying fifth egg- 48 

CHAPTE^R VI— Food and Cark of Young. 

How to prepare nestling- food 49 

Growth of young- birds 50 

Male assumes burden of caring- for young- 50 

Shy parents 50 

Cross-g-rained males _ 51 

Interfering with young- or nest . 51 

Birds hatched during- mosquito season 51 

Hen prepares to lay again — becomes restless .. 52 

Handling the young- birds 52, 53 

Car of young- orphans... 53 

CHAPTEiR VII— Training Young Singers. 

How to disting-uish the young- males 55 

How to arrang-e the cag-es of young- sing-ers 56 

How to teach a young- bird a tune 56 

Singing hens — value of to breeder 57 

Starving- a bird to make it tame 58 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTI^R VIII— Hybrids, OR "Mui,ES." page 

Breeding- of hybrids 59 

Time to pair the crosses 60 

American g^oldfinch and canary 60, 61 



European g-oldfinch 




61-63 


Ivinnet 




63, 64 


Bullfinch 




65 


Greenfinch 




65 


Indig-o Bird 




66 


Chaffinch 




69 


Siskin 




67 


Nonpareil 




67 


Hawfinch 




68 



CHAPTER IX— Red Mites. 

Description of insect 69 

Actions of canary when affected 69, 70 

To free a canary of the insects 70 

Freeing- cage of insects 70, 71 

Different effective remedies 71 

CHAPTER X — Diseases and Remedies. 

Cause of many diseases 73 

Asthma... 73, 74 

Bloating 74 

Broken legs 74 

Constipation 74, 75 

Consumption 75 

Clogged or sore feet 78 

Diarrhoea 75 

Egg-bound hen 75 

Epilepsy 76 

Functional derang-ement 76 

L/Oss of voice 76, 77 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER X— Continued. pagb 

lyong' claws or beaks 77 

Moulting- 77 

Obstruction of the oil g-land 77 

Pairing- fever 78 

Rupture 78 

Ulcers 79 

Vertisro 79 



"The busy birds, with nice selection, cull 
Soft thistle-down, gray moss, and scattered wool; 
Far from each prying- eye the nest prepare. 
Formed of warm moss, and lined with softest hair. 
Week after week, reg^ardless of her food, 
Th' incumbent hen warms her future brood; 
Each spotted eg^g" with ivory bill she turns. 
Day after day with fond impatience burns — 
Hears the young" prisoner chirping- in his cell, 
And breaks in hemispheres the fragile shell." 

— Erasmus Darwin. 



(x) 



INTRODUCTION. 




F the many books and articles relating to 
the care and breeding of the premier cage 
bird — the canary — the writer has not yet found 
one that did not contain unreliable and mislead- 
ing instructions as to its care and breeding, indi- 
cating plainly that the various compilers could 
not have obtained their information from actual 
experience and study of this little domestic pet 
and entertainer. 

In a handsomely printed and bound book on 
"The Breeding and Management of the Canary,'* 
by Rev. Francis Smith, of London, England, he 
says, on page 127, "... although our eight 
hens had laid upward of eighty eggs, we only 
succeeded in rearing three birds, which, how- 
ever, was enough to make us hope for better 
luck next time, and to keep us from despairing. 
. . ." To say the least, it was presumption 
to publish a book, purporting to instruct others 

(xi) 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

in the manner of breeding canaries, when the 
author acknowledges such a failure in his own 
case. 

In another booklet the author says: "In a 
fortnight young birds will be able to shift with- 
out their parents and to feed themselves," which 
is just about half the time that is necessary to 
take young birds from their parents. 

Another writer says : "The male takes his 
turn in setting upon the eggs," such not being 
the case, for the hen would surely force him off 
should a male persist in getting into the nest 
while she was off, feeding or exercising. 

It is this misleading information which has 
prompted the writer to publish this Manual, 
that those who own and admire this entertaining 
httle songster may be able to anticipate and sup- 
ply his wants. 

Breeding canaries for the general market can 
be done very profitably and requires but a small 
starting capital compared with the results pro- 
duced. A well-mated pair of canaries will breed 
at least four times during the season if started 
early in February in a warm room, producing, 
on an average, three young at each hatching, at 



INTRODUCTION. Xlll 

least one-half of these young birds being males, 
the writer knowing of one pair of birds laying 
and hatching five times in one season, producing 
sixteen birds, fourteen of which were males. 
Young singing canaries sold by January should 
net the breeder at least one dollar per bird, not 
calculating the price derived from the sale of 
hens, and if males a're held until the following 
late spring and early summer they should net 
fifty per cent more, the importation of foreign- 
bred canaries havin'g ceased and singers being 
very scarce. 

In breeding canaries for the general market, 
two apartments should be used — one for the 
birds breeding, and the other f@r the young and 
singing birds. The original stock, which should 
be the best singers procurable, must not be per- 
mitted to deteriorate, the hen's, especially, being 
renewed from the earliest importations. 

The breeding of red canaries was for a long 
time a secret, some dealers in Europe supposing 
the feathers to have been dyed, but this was 
found to be a mistake, the secret being that th? 
birds were fed upon ground red pepper, mixed 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

with soft food, just previous to and during the 
moulting of the bird. 

A portion of a conservatory would make a 
very nice aviary, when it is desired to allow the 
birds to mingle and breed promiscuously, and 
when it is desired to keep other varieties of seed- 
eating birds ; but very few young birds are 
raised in an aviary, as the idle birds are apt to 
destroy the nests of the industrious birds and 
injure the young, and there is always much quar- 
reling between both males and hens. When an 
apartment of any kind is constructed for use as 
an aviary, care should be taken to protect it 
from the heat of summer and the cold of winter. 

An unused attic, with screened windows, and 
a loose net before the door, to enable the floor 
to be swept, and the room to be entered without 
allowing the birds to escape, would be the 
simplest and most inexpensive aviary ; an oil- 
cloth or linoleum covering for the floor, kept 
clean and well sanded, would answer well for this 
room. As little dust as possible should be 
raised where canaries are kept, as it affects the 
lungs of these deHcate birds seriously. Fresh 
air, sunshine in moderation, warmth, and cleanli- 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

ness are indispensable in order to keep your 
birds strong and healthy. An aviary or room in 
which canaries are kept should be heated by 
steam, an oil-stove, or an open grate, the carbon 
thrown off by the pipes and iron of an ordinary 
stove being injurious to the song of canaries. 



But most of all, it wins my admiration, 

To view the structure of this little work, 

A bird's nest. Mark it well ! — within, without; 

No tool had he that wrougfht — no knife to cut, 

No nail to fix — no bodkin to insert — 

No g"lue to join; his little beak was all. 

And yet, how neatly finished 1 "What nice hand, 

"With every implement and means of art. 

And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot, 

Could make me such another ? Fondly, then, 

"We boast of excellence, whose noblest skill 

Instinctive g-enius foils." 

— HuRDis: " The "V^illage Curate." 



(xvi) 



THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 



CHAPTER I. 
General Information. 

By Ornitholog-ists called Fring-illa Canaria. 



Americans 

French 

Germans 

Italians 

Spaniards 



Carnary-Bird. 
Serin de Canarie. 
Canarienvog-el. 
Canarino. 
Canario. 



THE canary-bird is about five inches in 
length, of which the tail comprises over 
two inches. It has a pointed beak, long and 
pliant neck, gently swelling shoulders, expansive 
wings, containing eighteen pinion or quill 
feathers in each wing, and twelve feathers in the 
tapering tail ; light and bony feet and legs ; it is 
covered with a soft and delicate plumage — which 
is a non-conductor of heat in summer, and a 
non-conductor of cold in winter — it flies, when 
not pursued, apparently without effort, with an 
easy undulating motion. 

2 (17) 



18 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

Its lungs have several openings, communi- 
cating with corresponding air bags or cells, 
which fill the whole cavity of the body from the 
neck downward, and into which the air passes 
and repasses in the process of breathing. Its 
bones are hollowed out with the design of re- 
ceiving air from the lungs, from which air pipes 
are conveyed to the most solid parts of the body, 
and even into the quills and plumlets of the 
feathers, which are hollow or spongy for its re- 
ception. These hollow parts and cells are only 
open on the side communicating with the lungs, 
and it requires only to take in a full breath to 
fill and distend its whole body with air, which, 
in consequence of the considerable heat of its 
body, is rendered much lighter than the air of 
the atmosphere. By forcing this air out of the 
body again, the weight becomes so much in- 
creased that it can dart down from any height 
with astonishing rapidity. 

The canary has a cartilaginous stomach, 
covered Vv^ith very strong muscles, called a giz- 
zard, which is lined with a thick- membrane of 
prodigous power and strength, in which organ 
the food is completely triturated, and prepared 



GENERAL INEORMATION. 19 

for the operation of the gastric juices. All in- 
gredients entering the gizzard are evacuated, 
never ejected. 

The original color of the canary-bird is gray, 
which merges into green beneath, but by means 
of domestication, climate, and intermixture with 
other birds, as the citril finch and serin of Italy, 
and with the siskin and linnet of Germany and 
England, they have become so multifarious that 
the}^ are to be met with of almost every color 
and hue. 

Song appears to be the special privilege of 
the male, whereby it either attracts the hen or 
seeks to obtain her love, for there are but few 
hens which produce notes similar to the song of 
the male, and these almost exclusively after be- 
ing separated from their mates during the breed- 
ing season; but they listen attentively to the 
song of the male, and, when allowed their own 
selection of a mate, bestow their affection upon 
the one whose song seems to please them the 
most. 

The birds from which are descended the 
canaries now kept and raised throughout 
Europe and America, were natives originally of 



20 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

the Canary Islands, a possession of Spain, off' 
the northwest coast of Africa. At first the rear- 
ing of the canary-bird in Europe was attended 
with considerable difificulty, partly because the 
mode of treating these delicate strangers was 
not snfiFiciently understood, but principally be- 
cause males chiefly and not hens were intro- 
duced. 

The first record we have of the introduction 
of the canary into Europe proper is that ''Early 
in the sixteenth century, a ship, which, in addi- 
tion to other merchandise, had a large number 
of canaries on board that were consigned to 
Leghorn, a seaport city of Tuscany on the coast 
of the Mediterranean Sea, was wrecked on the 
coast of Italy, and the birds, thereby gaining 
their liberty, flew to the nearest land — which was 
Elba — where they found so favorable a climate 
that they multiplied without the intervention of 
man, and probably would have naturalized 
themselves had not the wish to possess them 
been so great as to cause them to be hunted after 
until they were entirely extirpated." 

In Italy, therefore, we find the first tame 
canaries, where they still are raised in large 



GENERAL, INFORMATION. 21 

numbers ; and here are trained the finest singing 
canaries in the world. The birds are placed in 
separate cages in a room and for hours daily an 
expert violinist plays to them. He plays one 
tune until every bird in the room is singing as if 
in chorus, and then he changes. When these 
birds become proficient they are worth from 
twenty-five to five hundred dollars each. But 
few Italian canaries are imported into the 
United States. 

It is estimated that one hundred thousand 
canaries are imported into the United States 
from Germany every year, where these birds are 
bred in vast numbers to supply the markets of 
the world. In many places the German export- 
ers equip the farmers with entire breeding out- 
fits free of charge and contract to buy every bird 
raised at a stipulated price each, and the familiar 
breeding cage may be seen during the breeding 
season through the open door or window of the 
home of the peasants who live in the region of 
the Hartz Mountains. The small wooden ca^^es 
in which the cages are shipped are made by the 
peasants from a fir which grows upon the moun- 
tains. 



22 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

The best songsters are raised in the Hartz 
Mountains, particularly in the village of St. 
Andreasberg, vvhere^ with the aid of an instru- 
ment called a bird organ, they train the variety 
called ''rollers," whose song consists of a long, 
rolling whistle, the most highly prized of all 
German canaries. The finest of these have no 
''chop notes," and use what is called the "water 
roll," the "bell," and the "flute notes." 

It is not generally known that but fe\v first- 
class singing canaries are imported into the 
United States unless specially ordered, as the 
dealers find a ready market for their superior 
grades on the Continent, the birds shipped to 
the United States being of the second and third 
grades mostly. 

The German canaries are by far the best 
songsters of all the different varieties ; but many 
are sold under this title which do not deserve the 
name, many unscrupulous dealers using the dis- 
carded wooden cages of the imported birds in 
which to sell American-bred birds. 

The genuine German canary has a very sweet, 
soft song, full of beautiful trills and shakes, not 
shrill and ear-piercing like the majority of Amer- 



GENERAL IXI^ORMATION. 23 

ican-bred canaries. It is generally a small and 
short bird, with a large throat, and will sing 
almost constantly, both during the day and by 
artificial light, and under the most adverse cir- 
cumstances ; it is generally very sensible and 
affectionate and very easily tamed. 

The Belgian canary is a tall, stoop-shouldered 
bird, the top of the head, when the bird is stand- 
ing erect, being a little lower than its shoulders, 
its tail touching the perch. It is a delicate and 
lazy bird, though a high-priced one, a fine speci- 
men costing as high as twenty-five dollars. They 
are of no one color, and but ordinary songsters. 

The cinnamon canary is a brown bird, v/ith- 
out any white feathers in its wings or tail. It 
resembles the German canary in shape and song, 
and by some writers it is claimed that a perfect 
specimen should have pink eyes. 

The Norwich canary is of somewhat compact 
form and beautiful plumage. They are a strong 
bird, of fairly good and powerful song. Some 
have large, beautiful crests, and their color is 
often a deep yellow, or a mixture of yello v and 
white. This variety of canary was formerly bred 
in large numbers in Norwich and principally sold 



24 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

in London, but is not common in the United 
States. 

The London fancy canary is of a rich golden 
\ello\v or deep orange, with black wings and 
tail. This variety is supposed to have originally 
been produced by crossing a male of the lizard 
variety with a French hen with black spots in 
her plumage, or by crossing an ordinary mealy- 
colored hen with an American goldfinch. 

The lizard canary — so called from its re- 
semblance to the reptile of this name — is of a 
bronze-green throughout ; the crown of the head 
of the gclden-spangled lizard being yellow, and 
the crown of the silver-spangled being white. 
The markings or spangles of the feathers are 
very regular, and the bird should have no white 
feathers in either wings or tail, but these gen- 
erally make their appearance as the bird grows 
old. 

The French variety, with ruffled feathers ; 
the Manchester coppy, with large crests ; the 
Scotch fancy variety ; the Yorkshire, and several 
other varieties, are, as a general rule, but indif- 
ferent songsters, and have ceased to be of intei- 
est to the breeders. 



CHAPTER II. 
Proper Care and Food. 

THE canary, never having known wider 
freedom than that of the cage, and being 
accustomed to find its food and drink prepared 
for it without any expenditure of labor, has no 
idea of searching for food should it escape or be 
released from its cage, but would perish from 
hunger or be destroyed by some natural enemy 
of the bird. 

Being, in their natural state, inhabitants of a 
mild-climated country, and rendered delicate by 
a constant life in rooms, they have become 
habituated to a temperature similar to that of 
their native islands, and care is necessary in 
winter in order that a uniform temperature may 
be preserved, carefully avoiding an exposure to 
cold air and draughts, than which there is noth- 
ing more fatal to a canary's song and health. 

Its cage should be hung not less than two 

(25) 



26 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

feet below the ceiling of a room, in order to 
avoid the vitiated atmosphere alwasy found near 
a ceiling; nor should it be hung less than six feet 
above the floor. This places a timid bird out of 
the reach of persons who thoughtlessly place 
their faces close to the cage, or place their hands 
upon the cage, thus frightening the bird. 

A hen should be kept, if intended for breed- 
ing purposes, in a large breeding cage, in order 
that she may have sufficient space to keep her 
limbs in constant exercise, and preserve the bird 
in health and strength. They should have the 
same kind of food as the males, but in winter she 
may have more miscellaneous food than the 
male and less seeds. A hen canary is more 
partial to water than a male, and should be given 
a bath daily. 

When there are two or more singing birds in 
the same room it is best to keep them as far 
apart as possible, or have them placed in such 
positions as will prevent them seeing each other, 
for some birds, though excellent singers when 
placed alone in a room, are of such a pugnacious 
disposition that at the sight of another bird they 



PROPER CARE AND FOOD. 27 

cease to sing and continually strive to get out 
of their cage. 

As a male canary in full song will mate at 
any time of the year, a hen should never be kepi 
m the same room with a good songster, nor, if 
possible, within his hearing, as she will call to 
him, causing him to frequently break off in his 
song. 

To keep a canary in a happy and contented 
condition, it is necessary occasionally to hang it 
in brilliant daylight, if possible in the morning 
sunshine, especially when giving them their bath, 
but with the window closed, unless it be a still, 
warm day. To keep a male canary in a kitchen, 
or in a room where culinary work is performed, 
spoils both its plumage and song. 

The cage in which a canary is confined should 
be roomy — better too large than too small. It 
should be of brass, and be thoroughly polished 
occasionally with a stifif brush and fine ashes 
from a stove or grate made into a paste with 
water, after which it should be thoroughly 
rinsed and dried. The bird can be transferred to 
another cage temporarily by removing the 



28 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

perches from the cage which is to be cleaned 
and placing the two cages, with the bottoms 
removed, upon a table, with the two open doors 
together. The bird will hop from one into the 
other, and can be retransferred in the same man- 
ner after its regular cage has been cleaned and 
prepared. 

Every cage should have two sets of perches 
in order that a clean, dry set may be substituted 
for those which have become dirty, without 
being compelled to wash and immediately re- 
place the same set, as wet perches sometimes 
give a bird rheumatism in its feet. A bird's perch 
should not be less than one-half inch in diameter 
tc insure ease and comfort. Should the perch be 
too small, the claws sometimes curl round and 
enter the toes and cause them to wither. The 
perches should be perfectly smooth and round, 
and if possible be made of cedar wood. 

Clean gravel should be spread thickly upon 
the bottom of the cage. A screen made of close- 
knit cloth can be made to fit around the cage by 
passing a piece of elastic through a seam at the 
top, the two ends meeting at the door and tied, 
with the bottom gathered and tied tightly with 



PROPER CARE AND FOOD. 29 

a ribbon. This screen can be made very orna- 
mental, and need not be removed until it is 
necessary to renew the gravel in the bottom of 
the cage, which it is not necessary to do more 
than once a week, if it has been spread thickly. 
The cups containing the seed and water can be 
removed daily by simply drawing the elastic out, 
and no hulls, feathers or gravel will be strewn 
upon the floor. 

Canaries thrive best upon a mixture of Sicily 
or Spanish canary-seed and German sweet sum- 
mer rape-seed, about two parts of the former to 
one of the latter, though canaries are more 
partial to rape-seed in winter than in summer. 
Some birds being of a wasteful disposition, it is 
best not to put more than enough seed for each 
day in the cup, but the drinking and seed cups 
should be frequently scalded and cleansed. A 
piece of cuttle bone should be placed inside the 
cage at one end of the perch nearest the seed 
cup, fastened with a wire thread looped through 
two holes, as a bird will persistently peck it loose 
if fastened with a string. 

Bad seed will often cause disease and the 
death of a canary, if tainted by mice, roaches or 



30 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

mildew, so that it is of great importance to pur- 
chase it from a dealer who handles only fresh 
and sound seed. 

A singing canary should have no hemp seed, 
bread, sugar, candy or cake, for if it is fed these 
dainties — which are unnatural foods to a seed- 
eating bird — his song will weaken and finally 
cease. No paper should be placed in the bottom 
of its cage, as they peck at this, and the ingredi- 
ents it contains will give the bird diarrhoea, 
which is sometimes very hard to cure. Once or 
twice a week a little chopped hard-boiled egg 
should be given a canary, or a small piece of 
lettuce or water-cress in summer, in winter a 
small piece of sweet apple or celery once a week. 

A bath may be given to a sinking canary 
every day during summer if it will take one, once 
or twice a week during spring or fall, and none 
at all during very cold weather, unless the room 
ill which the bird is kept is quite warm. The 
water for his bath must never be chilled, nor 
must it be tepid, as a bird will not bathe in tepid 
water, nor will it bathe in the same water on two 
consecutive days, although it will often enter the 
same water two or three times the same day. 



CHAPTER III. 
Pairing Canaries. 

WHEN the temperature is kept even and 
mild a male in full song and an active, 
prolific hen will often breed during any month 
in the year ; but when canaries are not being 
raised for profit it is best to pair the birds in 
February, for it is generally acknowledged that 
the best singers develop from the birds hatched 
during the months of February and March. 

Unless the birds are being raised solely for 
profit, four broods should satisfy the owner of a 
good pair of birds, for to permit a hen to lay 
and hatch out more than four broods will often 
exhaust her vitality, and a good mother bird, 
from a good strain of singers, should be well 
taken care of. On the other hand, it is a well- 
known fact that a good breeding hen one year 
may turn out to be, worthless the following 
season, often destroying her eggs or maiming 

(31) 



32 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

her young, though this destructive propensity 
may be caused by feeding the hen a piece of 
bacon rind in order to permit the easy laying 
of her eggs — quite a common practice among 
some persons who raise canaries. 

Meat of any description fed to a canary will 
develop carnivorous propensities and an angry, 
quarrelsome disposition, meat being an un- 
natural food to any seed-eating bird ; and the 
object should be always to make the food and 
surroundings of a cage bird conform to those 
of its natural state as nearly as possible. 

By observing them closely, it will be found 
that every canary is possessed of some charac- 
teristic peculiarly its own. Some males are 
always dejected, sing but little, are indifferent to 
their mates, and are unfit for breeding purposes ; 
others are too choleric, incessantly snap at and 
chase about the females, and often kill them and 
their young; others are too ardent, annoy fhe 
hen while she is setting, tear the nest, throw out 
the eggs, or continually excite her to pair until 
she quits her eggs or neglects her young; 
others, in the breeding season, sing so inces- 
santly and so powerfully that they rupture the 



PAIRING CANARIES. 33 

small vessels of the lungs and suddenly drop 
dead. 

In selecting a male canary, notice the ones 
that stand the most erect on their perches and 
hop quickly and smartly about their cages ; then 
hear them sing before deciding which to pur- 
chase, and select the one which has the fullest 
and most melodious tone. A really good bird 
will sing under the most unfavorable conditions. 
Should a bird refuse to sing when separated 
from others, do not purchase it. A dealer in 
canaries generally keeps the best singers and 
most costly in a dark room, or has them covered 
with a thin cloth, not permitting them to sing 
freely. The feathers of a healthy bird are 
smooth and lay close to its body. Should a bird 
feel soft and spongy when taken in the hand it 
is unhealthy and weak. The toes and legs of a 
young bird are smooth^ and its claws small and 
short, while the legs of an old bird are scaly and 
its claws long. 

Those birds of a green and brown color 
paired with a bright yellow hen often produce 
dusky-white young. A bright yellow male should 
be mated with a mealy-colored hen to produce 



34 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

handsome young. A green male mated with a 
deep - yellow hen often produce the much- 
admired cinnamon bird. If the male be a mottled 
bird and the hen light yellow the young will most 
likely be divided in the resemblance to their 
parents. It is generally found that where one 
bird is crested and the other has a smooth head 
the young are about equally divided. Two 
crested birds must never be mated, as the heads 
of the young w411 be deformed in some manner, 
often being bald or having ulcers on the ridges 
upon which the feathers should grow. 

Some hens merely lay and quit their eggs as 
soon as laid ; others feed their young badly, 
pluck out their feathers, and bite ofif portions of 
the wings of their young; others lay with much 
exertion and labor, and when they should hatch 
become sickly, or lay again after a long interval. 

Hens should be selected which are known to 
have come from good singing stock, and should 
be of a lively disposition, as lazy, pufTy hens 
seldom make good mothers. It is generally 
found that timid and apparently wild hens make 
the closest setters and the best mothers. In pur- 
chasing a hen canary select a young bird, as an 



PAIRING CANARIKS 35 

old hen may have been bred the previous season 
and been sold by her owner on account of some 
bad practice. 

It is always the safest plan to mate an old hen 
with a young male, or a young hen with an old 
male; a brother should never be paired with a 
sister, or a father with a daughter, or vice versa. 

If it is desired to mate two hens to one male 
they should be kept together for some time in 
order that they may become perfectly familiar 
with each other, thus providing, if possible, 
against their quarreling after they have been 
placed in the cage with the male. 

The nails or claws of old birds must be 
clipped, to prevent them becoming entangled in 
the materials of the nest and thus possibly 
dragging the eggs or young out in getting in and 
out. By holding the bird's feet to the light the 
''red ray" will show how far it is safe to clip them 
without drawing blood. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Breeding Cages. 

/Tp\ HE larger the breeding cage the better the 
-^ birds will prosper. A breeding cage 
should not be less than twenty inches long, 
twelve wide and about fifteen high, divided into 
two compartments, or into three compartments 
if two hens are paired to one male. A cage made 
entirely of metal is always preferable, as being 
easier to clean and less liable to be infested with 
those persistent enemies of the canary, "red 
mites." 

If the ordinary wood-and-wire cage is used, 
and the cage should not be a new one, examine 
it thoroughly and carefully for these pests ; for 
if your birds have but recently been purchased 
from a bird dealer, you may be sure that they 
have these insects upon them, the writer never 
yet having seen a bird come from a dealer that 
did not bring these insects with it. Should youi 
(36) 



BREEDING CAGES. 37 

cage or bird have these insects about it, proceed 
to get rid of them as directed in the chapter on 
"Red Mites," Chapter IX. It may be safely said 
that the cause of many of the failures to breed 
canaries successfully can be directly or indirectly 
traced to the birds being worried and fretted by 
these insects. 

Having properly cleaned the breeding cage, 
a set of four perches must be placed in it — two 
about four inches from the ends and the same 
distance from the top ; the two lower perches 
about two inches from the ends and the same 
distance above the bottom, or of a sufificient 
height to enable the birds to easily reach the seed 
cups. If the cage has a wooden back^ small 
holes can be made with a gimlet at the proper 
distance from the top and bottom, to correspond 
with the rest of the perch at the other end, one 
end of the perch being grooved or forked, the 
other being trimmed to a point to fit in the hole 
m.ade with the gimlet ; these perches should not 
be less than one-half inch in diameter at the 
middle. 

Two nests must be supplied for each hen, one 
in each of the four corners of the cage, about 



38 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

three inches from the top. If one female only is 
used — and it is always safer to use but one — two 
nests, one in each end at the back of the cage, 
are necessary only. It is safer to use the small 
willow baskets made for the purpose as nests, 
than the woven wire variety, the birds being 
sometimes caught by a claw in the latter kind 
and having a leg broken in trying to extricate 
itself. 

The metal breeding cages have a frame in 
which a basket fits nicely, which frame in turn 
fits into a socket soldered to the back of the 
cage. If a wire-and-wood cage is used, the nests 
can be fastened with wire thread attached to the 
top of the cage. These wire threads should pass 
beneath the basket and be fastened from three 
different points to prevent the nest from tilting 
to one side, and thereby throwing out the eggs 
or young birds. 

A tinner can make a wire loop into which a 
willow nest will fit snugly and not fall through, 
or it may be more securely fastened with wire 
thread inserted through the rim of the nest and 
around the wire. This loop should have two 
ends over six inches long, bent vertically, which 



BREEDING CAGES. 39 

may rest upon the top ridge or binding wire of 
the cage outside from the inside, then forced in- 
side again, and braced against the lower ridge 
of binding wire. This style of nest can be re- 
moved and cleaned easily if placed in position 
properly, whereas, if fastened with the thread as 
described in the preceding paragraph, it is sta- 
tionary. 

If the cage has not the usual arrangement in 
the ends for holding the seed and water cups, the 
wires may be easily bent a little with a pair of 
ordinary pliers and a thin nail driven at an angle 
from the outside to prevent the cups from fall- 
ing backward. Clean sand or gravel should be 
spread over the bottom to the depth of a quarter 
of an inch or more, and a piece of cuttle-bone 
for each hen fastened inside above the lower 
perch, as it is composed of pure carbonate of 
lime and is wholesome and positively necessary 
to prevent the hen laying soft-shell eggs. It 
should be renewed for every prospective brood, 
as they also feed it to the young birds. 

The cage having now been prepared, it 
should be hung in a light, quiet corner of the 
room, about two feet below the ceiling, and 



40 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

Vvhere the temperature is even and not too 
warm, and out of the reach of prying children 
and inquisitive visitors, as it is necessary that 
the birds be not interfered with more than is 
absolutely necessary; nor must the cage be re- 
moved or cleaned while a brood is being hatched 
and reared. 

A small piece of cloth should be fastened 
over the opposite end of the cage in which the 
hen is setting, in order that the light which may 
be burning in the room at night will not worry 
the male, as he generally roosts upon the perch 
away from the female ; or, what is better still, a 
screen can be placed across the entire front of 
the cage, about six inches below the top ; this 
will shield both birds and still admit sufficient 
light. A paper or some other covering may be 
placed upon the top of the cage to protect it 
from dust. 

After the first brood has been successfully 
reared greater liberty may be taken with the 
parents, and the sliding bottom removed and 
freshly sanded, as they will by this time have 
acquired confidence in your good intention 
toward their young. 







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CHAPTER V. 
Laying and Hatching. 

THE birds having already been selected and 
freed from parasites, if they were origin- 
ally possessed of any, the wire partition used for 
dividing the cage into two compartments should 
be placed in position and the male placed in one 
compartment and the hen in the other, in order 
that both birds may become familiar with their 
new quarters and with each other. After two or 
three days have elapsed the partition may be 
taken out. 

If two hens are mated to one male, only one 
hen Is placed in the compartment with the male, 
and after they have mated and the hen has laid 
all her eggs, the male may be placed in the other 
compartment with the remaining hen by raising 
the partition and placing your hand against the 
side in which he is, and when he has flown across 
lowering it again. When the second hen has 

(41) 



42 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

built her nest the partition can be removed en« 
tirely, and the male will feed and attend both 
hens, provided they have all three become 
friends, which Is not always the case. Should 
both hens be allowed together in the cage at one 
time without the partition being used, they 
might both select the same nest, and one hen 
having secured possession, the other would sit 
on or near it until the occupant was driven off 
by hunger or thirst, when she would immediately 
take possession of it, and trouble would surely 
follow. 

It is a curious fact, perhaps not known to 
every one, that when there are two hens with 
one male in a cage, and one hen dies, the other, 
if she has not already laid her eggs, will hatch 
the eggs laid by her co-mate, and rear the young 
as her own ; and, during this foster-mother care, 
carefully avoid the caresses of the male. 

The male and hen may fight, or the male may 
seemingly avoid the hen and give way to her in 
apparent fear for a short time, but if they are 
suited to each other the male will begin to feed 
the hen, and when he does this you may be 
assured that all is going well so far as their pair- 



lyAYING AND HATCHING. 43 

ing is concerned. A piece of tissue paper or 
string should be placed between the wires at this 
time. 

Probably in a day the male will commence 
to flit about the cage in front of the hen with 
a piece of string or paper in his beak, and shake 
it in the sand upon the bottom of the cage, and 
go in and out of the nest. 

The hen, for some time, will appear not to 
notice him ; but she will soon begin to get rest- 
less and fly from one perch to another and 
against the wires of the cage, appearing to be in 
distress, or she may tug at the feathers on her 
breast as though in misery. She will then pick 
up a piece of string or paper and still fly about 
in an uneasy manner, perhaps for one or two 
days, and sometimes longer if a young bird, not 
noticing the nest at all ; finally, she will go into 
one or both of the nests and right out again, but 
will finally select one and bustle around in it. 

Now is the time to place the building material 
in the cage, which must consist of some pieces of 
tissue paper, string, excelsior, and raveled tow- 
eling, all cut into lengths of about two inches , 
not longer, as the materials are woven together, 



44 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

and should some of the ends hang over the edge 
of the nest, and the male have the bad habit — 
which some males have — of pulling them out, he 
is liable to pull the whole nest out. The build- 
mg of the nest occupies from one to three days, 
and is built entirely by the female. After the 
hen has been working on her nest the first day 
some medicated cotton or wool should be added 
to the building material, as some hens, being 
very erratic, will not build without it. The build- 
ing material can be placed on the top of the cage, 
directly over one of the perches, tied about with 
a string and a weight placed upon it, as a hen 
seems to delight in being compelled to use force 
in pulling the strands out. 

The first egg is generally laid within a week 
after the pairing of the birds takes place, the 
birds having in the meantime had hard-boiled 
egg given them in addition to their regular seed. 
Prom three to six eggs are laid, not always one 
each day, it generally taking the hen six days 
to lay five eggs. As the hen eats the cuttle-bone 
the evening previous to laying an egg, she has 
laid all her eggs when she ceases doing this. 

The hen may cover the first egg laid, but 



LAYING AND HATCHING. 45 

does not begin to sit close until the second egg 
has been laid, consequently it is thirteen days 
from the time the second egg has been laid until 
the first young bird is hatched, the remainder of 
the eggs being hatched in the order in which 
they were laid^ thirteen days from the laying of 
each egg, there sometimes being four or five 
days' difference in the age of the birds, the last 
born often dying, being too weak to struggle 
successfully for its portion of food. 

Care should be taken not to remove a light 
from the room in which the hen is setting with- 
out first being sure that she is on her nest, as 
they frequently come off to eat or drink when 
persons are moving about in a lighted room, 
and should a light be suddenly removed or e:?t- 
tinguished the hen would be unable to get back 
on her nest and the eggs become dead and 
worthless. 

Some young hens become egg-bound and are 
unable to eject the egg, and sit puffed up on the 
perch or on the bottom of the cage ; in such case 
treat them as instructed in the chapter on 
"Diseases and Their Remedies." 

Should the eggs fail to hatch after the hen 



46 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

has sat upon them faithfully, the eggs were in- 
fertile, which may have been the fault of the 
male, or the hen may have been a hybrid, and 
the one at fault must be found and removed and 
another substituted. 

Sometimes a hen will come ofif the eggs or 
young birds with the feathers of the abdomen 
very wet. This is called a "sweating" hen, and 
though it is no doubt very weakening, it really 
amounts to nothing serious ; but a bath should 
always be in the cage for her use if she is so 
inclined, although but few setting hens will go 
into the water, but will do so after the young 
birds are a few days old, sometimes two or three 
times the same day. 

A hen will occasionally be found that builds 
her nest, but does not lay an egg; she will set 
the same as any hen that has laid four or five. 
Such a bird should be gotten rid of, as she is 
worthless, being a barren hen, or afflicted with 
what is termed "functional derangement." A 
setting hen should never be forced off her nest. 
If, for any reason, you should desire to inspect 
the nest or young birds, place a step-ladder in 
the proper position and wait until she has left 



LAYING AND HATCHING. 47 

the nest for food or exercise, then go quickly 
and make your inspection. 

Again, hens are met with that eat their eggs, 
which is often caused by the person who attends 
to them not keeping a sufficient supply of food 
in the cage, which should be looked after care- 
fully. 

Should there remain eggs in the nest un- 
hatched after the sixteenth day they are no 
doubt infertile or contain dead birds and may as 
well be thrown away. They may be tested, how- 
ever, by dropping them into a cup of tepid 
water ; if they sink toward the bottom they con- 
tain a bird, dead or alive ; should they refuse to 
sink at all they are surely addled and worthless. 
Young birds are sometimes killed in the egg by 
loud and startling noises, such as the firing of a 
gun, slamming of a door, or thunder. 

Some breeders, when the hen has commenced 
to lay, remove the eggs, placing them in a box 
filled with clean, dry sand, substituting, as each 
egg is taken away, an artificial egg, sometimes 
whittled from a piece of chalk, and after the hen 
has laid all her eggs, returning them to the nest. 
In this manner, they have the birds all hatched 



48 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

at once, and not at intervals, as in the natural 
process of hatching. This interference with a 
laying hen should only be attempted by one who 
is thoroughly familiar with the hen, as she is 
very liable to desert the nest if she be not of an 
amiable disposition. This removal of the eggs 
should not be attempted with the first laying, but 
may be after one or more broods have been 
raised. 

It is customary for some who breed canaries 
to take away the fifth egg laid by a hen and 
destroy it, as it interferes with her in setting, it 
being a smaller tgg than the other four and 
nearly always turning out, when hatched, to be 
a weak bird, besides being generally hatched 
some four days after the first two birds. 

Care should be taken that the water vessels 
in a breeding cage are shallow, as young birds 
sometimes contrive to get into them, and being 
unable to turn around or get out, are drowned 
before the attendant has discovered their con- 
dition. 



CHAPTER VI. 
Food and Care of Young Birds. 

THE time for the young birds to hatch out 
having arrived, the seed should be taken 
away and a preparation of hard-boiled Qgg and 
bread crumbs supplied to the old birds. The 
bread should be without salt, or home-made, if 
possible, baked in an oven until it is dry and 
brittle — not burnt — and rolled or grated into a 
fine powder. At first a teaspoonful of these 
crumbs should be added to half a fresh hard- 
boiled egg, minced or chopped very fine, and 
thoroughly mixed, never allowed to become the 
least bit sour, and supplied to the birds so soon 
as it becomes light enough in the morning to 
enable the parents to see to feed the young. 
(Whenever the words "nestling food" are used 
hereafter, they mean this preparation.) After 
the young have become a week old the seed may 
be returned to the cage in a decreased quantity, 
4 (49) 



50 THE DOMESTIC SOXG BIRD. 

with the addition of a teaspoonful of ground 
hemp seed — not more. This seed can be ground 
in an ordinary coffee mill ; but the nestling food 
of egg and bread crumbs must be continued in 
the same quantity so long as the young birds are 
in the cage with their parents, and in a decreased 
nuantity after they have been separated and re- 
covered from their first moult, which is generally 
at the end of about tw^o months. 

Young birds do not appear to grow very 
rapidly until after the first week. In ten days 
they will be able to see, and after they are two 
weeks old they are likely to leave the nest at any 
time, to which they will not return, though they 
may sit upon its edges. 

The male generally takes the greatest share 
of the duty of feeding the young birds after the 
first few days, previous to which he procures and 
macerates the food, feeding it to the hen, who in 
turn feeds it to the young birds. 

Some birds are very shy of being seen to feed 
their young, and it is difficult to find out whether 
they perform their duty or not ; others will de- 
light in being noticed, and will call attention to 
their infant brood with great parental pride. 



FOOD AND CARE OF YOUNG BIRDS, 51 

Sometimes a cross-grained male will be an- 
noyed at the mother's attention to her young, 
and will not only neglect, but injure them. If 
he does this once he must not be trusted again, 
but removed, as soon as the young are hatched, 
to the next compartment, and the mother will 
often bring up her brood by herself. 

It may be necessary to change the nest when 
it becomes very dirty; but this must not be at- 
tempted except with very tame birds who have 
entire confidence in the good intentions of their 
owner toward the young, until they are tolerably 
well fledged, as the hen will sometimes show her 
displeasure at having her nest meddled with by 
refusing to return to it. She may, perhaps, still 
feed the young birds, but if a cold night follows 
and she does not cover the young, they will 
perish. It is necessary to keep some supervision 
over the nest, however, as a weakly bird may 
die in it, and if not taken out it will remain 
trodden down by the living birds until corrup- 
tion takes place. 

Should young birds be hatched during the 
mosquito season the cage must be covered with 
a mosquito netting, which can be raised and laid 



52 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

back upon the top of the cage during the day 
and lowered at night. 

When young birds are about two weeks old 
the hen generally begins preparations for an- 
other brood, leaving the care of her young 
entirely to the male^ and she must be supplied 
with the materials with which to construct her 
nest as before. The sliding bottom of the cage 
should be withdrawn, thoroughly cleaned and 
sanded. Some hens will insist on laying in the 
same nest with the young, in which case the 
young may be placed in a shallow wooden box 
lined with cotton^ and set upon the floor of the 
cage, where the male will attend them. 

Some breeders place the young on one side 
of the partition as soon as they leave the nest, 
and the parents on the other side ; but this is not 
necessary unless the male should become vicious 
and attack them. The hen does not generally 
bother them unless they persist in sitting upon 
the edge of the nest, when she drives them off 
by gentle pecks. 

At the end of four weeks the young are able 
to feed themselves and should be placed in a 
large cage — an unpainted breeding cage will do 



FOOD AND CARE OF YOUNG BIRDS. 53 

— out of sight and hearing of their father, with 
perches fixed near the ends of the cage in order 
that they may be compelled to use their wings 
in going from one perch to another. 

In removing a brood of young birds from the 
cage in which they were born, they should be 
gathered on one side of the breeding cage, the 
partition let down, caught as quickly as possible, 
and taken away by an assistant, who should be 
at hand. 

The young birds must have the same food as 
before, both the nestling and seed, but as they 
grow older the soft food can be decreased until 
they have moulted, after which the nestling food 
can be discontinued altogether, and the birds fed 
and cared for the same as are regular songsters, 
the directions for which have been already given. 

If through some accident the little birds 
should be left orphans, keep the nest as warm 
as possible, give each bird so much as will go on 
a quill pen, dipped in the yolk of an egg, of the 
nestling food, about three penfuls every hour 
during the day, until they are able to shift for 
themselves. 

After young canaries leave the nest they 



54 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

appear to many persons to be sickly, as they sit 
upon the perches in a puffy manner, and do not 
appear to be as clamorous for food as while in 
the nest ; but they are not sick, and will fly wildly 
about the cage whenever the person attending 
them goes near to replenish the food and drink- 
ing vessels. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Training Young Singers. 

^\V^ OUNG birds sometimes begin to warble 
^ when they are about three weeks old, but 
this is not always the case. Both the males and 
the hens warble at first, and they generally start 
it while sitting lazily upon the perch, or may be 
started by running water, operating a sewing 
machine or turning a coffee-mill. It is some- 
what difficult to distinguish the males from the 
hens when they are young, but the males are of 
a deeper color about the head, neck, and upper 
part of the body ; the neck is more extended ; the 
body is more lithe and slender ; there is a larger 
swelling of the throat, and the warbling is more 
continuous and frequent as they grow older, and 
altogether they have a more bold and bright 
look than do the hens, the latter being generally 
of lighter color and more broad and "dumpy" 

(55) 



56 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

in their general appearance, their warbHng be- 
coming less frequent and finally lapsing into a 
chirp. 

When the young males are through their first 
moult they should be each placed in a cage by 
itself, and the cages so arranged that the birds 
can not see each other, and placed within the 
hearing of a first-class songster. If the young 
birds hear the song of but one bird they will 
acquire his notes, to which they often add their 
own, but they more readily pick up the chop- 
notes (this chop-note resembles the word 
"chop," repeated rapidly) of a common nerve- 
racker, and care should be taken that they be 
kept out of hearing of such a bird. 

To teach a young canary a tune he must be 
placed in a small wire cage, which, at the com- 
mencement must be covered with muslin, and by 
degrees with thicker woolen cloth, when a short 
air must be whistled to him, or a flute, a phono- 
graph or small organ may be used. This lesson 
must be repeated five or six times a day, 
especially mornings and evenings, and in about 
six months, if the bird is possessed of a good 
memory, he will have acquired the air. 



TRAINING YOUNG CANARIES. 57 

Occasionally a hen will develop into an ex- 
ceedingly good singer, which has caused it to 
be mistaken and purchased for a male, the real 
sex being only discovered when she has sur- 
prised her owner late in the following spring or 
early summer by laying several eggs. A singing 
female, if a good mother, is worth her weight 
in gold to a breeder, who would, no doubt, rather 
keep her than the best male he possessed, as 
her progeny are always the very best singers. 
In case the sex of a singing canary is in doubt it 
should be placed, during the breeding season, 
near the cage of a male. Both birds will stop 
singing almost entirely and cling to the sides of 
the cage nearest to each other; the male droop- 
ing his wings, raising the feathers on his head, 
and giving vent to frequent short bursts of song. 
If the doubtful bird proves to be a hen the male 
will continually utter a low click, something en- 
tirely different from what you have ever heard 
him use before. Should the doubtful bird prove 
to be a male they will soon resume their song 
and not bother about each other, except they 
may occasionally want to fight. 

A canary may be taught to sing while sitting 



58 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

upon the finger, by keeping it for some time in a 
cage without food, and while sitting upon the 
finger its favorite food must be held to it upon 
the tip of the extended tongue. A bird must be 
taught while it is young, and soon becomes very 
tame. 

Some young canaries are very late in develop- 
ing into good singers, appearing to spend their 
time in playing about their cage, picking up 
grains of sand, or strengthening their beaks by 
testing the wires of their cages, it often being 
six or seven months before they really begin to 
sino-. It has not been idle, however, for it will 
eventually surprise its owner by turning out to 
be one of the very best singers, having absorbed 
and stowed away in its little memory all the 
notes of the birds to which it has been listening. 
A season's crop of young canaries may be 
divided into three grades, even if both parents 
were cf the finest strain, a few always being but 
indifferent singers, seeming to be lacking in live- 
hness and imitativeness, and possessing no 
mem.ory at all in comparison with their more 
sprightly brothers. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Hybrids, or "Mules." 

THE breeding of hybrids — the progeny of 
crossing or mating the canary with 
ether species of the finch or seed-eating tribe — 
possesses a fascination to the breeder of canaries 
which it is hard to resist, notwithstanding that 
the chances of failure outnumber two to one the 
chance of evolving a bird of superior song and 
beautiful plumage. 

In pairing a canary with a different species 
of seed-eating bird it must be remembered that 
a hen canary is always to be preferred, although 
it is by no means certain that just as good re- 
sults may not be obtained by using a male canary 
and a hen of another species if such a hen is per- 
fectly domesticated and tame, for it must also be 
borne in mind that these birds were born in their 
natural state and still possess, to a certain ex- 
tent, their wild instincts and natural timidity. 

(59) 



60 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

About the middle of April, if the spring 
promises to be early and warm, is the best time 
to pair these crosses, placing one bird on each 
side of the breeding cage for about a week, or 
until they seem to have become thoroughly 
familiar with each other and their new surround- 
ings. 

It may be impossible to procure some of the 
species mentioned if arrangements are not made 
with some importer of foreign birds about the 
beginning of September or October, as these 
importers make arrangements with their foreign 
buyers in regard to the variety and number of 
birds wanted. 

The following-named and described species 
of the finch tribe can be successfully crossed 
with the canary : 

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH. 

The American goldfinch, or yellow bird, as 
he is commonly called, is so named from its re- 
semblance to the English goldfinch in its habits 
and natural food. It is found all over the Ameri- 
can continent. As summer approaches, the 
males cast oflf their olive-covered winter suits 



HYBRIDS, OR '* MUI^ES." 61 

and appear in their golden livery — the front of 
the head, wings, and tail being of a deep black. 
They may often be seen in flocks, flitting from 
reed to reed, twittering all the time, and opening 
and closing its wings in the same manner as the 
wild canary. They have a varied, soft, and 
cheerful song. 

In confinement the yellow bird soon becomes 
familiar and reconciled to its surroundings. In 
addition to the regular seed of the canary they 
should have also some seed of the thistle, lettuce, 
hemp, and sunflower ; not necessarily all of these 
seed, but those which can be procured. 

They are very fond of bathing and picking up 
small particles of sand and gravel, with which 
they should always be well supplied. It is some- 
what diflicult to secure a hybrid from this bird 
and the canary. 

THE EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH. 

This is a delightful cage bird, alike from the 
beauty of its plumage, its docility, its melodious 
song, its incessant activity, and its ability to 
repeat airs and the songs of other birds. 

It is about five and a half inches long, of 



62 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

which the tail is two inches. The beak is pointed 
and very shghtly bent, with a horn-colored tip; 
the feet are brownish. The front of the head is 
of a bright scarlet red ; a broad margin of similar 
color surrounds the base of the beak; on the 
top of the neck there is a white spot ; the cheeks 
and front of the neck are white ; the back of the 
neck and back are of a beautiful brown; the 
longer feathers are black; both sides of the 
breast and flanks are of a bright brown; the 
middle of the breast, belly and vent are whitish, 
with some feathers brownish. The tail is slightly 
forked and black. 

They must have, in addition to the food gen- 
erally given to a breeding canary, some hemp 
and poppy seed, and green foods, as cabbage, 
lettuce and water-cress, as it is a voracious eater. 
It is subject to epilepsy and sore eyes. In old 
age and confinement they lose the brilliant 
colors of their plumage and generally become 
blind. 

As the females of the European goldfinch are 
often sold for males by unscrupulous dealers on 
account of their close resemblance to the males, 
they may be distinguished by their being a little 



HYBRIDS, OR "MULES." 63 

smaller, not so broadly and beautifully red about 
the beak; the chin brownish; the cheeks inter- 
mixed with bright brown; the small coverts of 
the wings brown ; and the back of a deeper dark- 
brown than the males. 

The males of this cross are generally of most 
striking plumage and superior songsters. 

THE LINNET. 

The linnet excels most other song birds in its 
power of beautifully and purely imitating airs 
and melodies which are played to it. Its natural 
song consists of many connected strophies, and 
It is admired for what is called its ''crowing," 
from its resemblance to the crowing of a cock. 
It will also learn the songs of all the birds in the 
room with it. 

The length of the linnet is somewhat more 
than five inches, of which the tail measures 
about two and one-half inches. The beak is 
dusky-blue in summer and grayish-white in win- 
ter, with the point brown. The feet are black. 

A male linnet less than three years old in the 
spring has a blood-red forehead, the rest of the 
head ash-colored, with the top spotted with 



64 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

black ; the feathers of the back are chestnut, with 
the sides Hghter ; the sides of the breast are 
blood-red; the sides of the belly are pale rust- 
color; and the under part of the body reddish- 
v/hite. The tail is black and forked, the four 
outer feathers having a broad white border, the 
two middle feathers being narrower and reddish- 
white. 

After moulting in autumn little red is to be 
seen on the forehead, and males one year old 
have no red on the head, more black, pale-red 
on the breast, and the back rust-colored. These 
birds are known as gray linnets. 

There are other clouded varieties of linnets, 
produced by the seasons and old age. Birds 
brought up in the house never acquire the fine 
red on the forehead and breast, but remain gray 
like the males of one year old; on the other 
hand, old birds brought into the house lose their 
beautiful colors at the first moulting, and appear 
as gray linnets. 

The progeny of this cross resemble an 
ordinary green or gray canary, but the males are 
superb songsters and very imitative, quickly 
acquiring the song of any bird within hearing. 



HYBRIDS, OR "MULES." ^5 

THE BULLFINCH, 

The bullfinch is one of the greatest favorites 
of the finch species. It is especially desirable for 
its winsome ways and its remarkable tameness. 
The top of its head, wings and tail are of a 
glossy black ; the beak is thick and black ; the 
back bluish gray ; the breast red. Its song is a 
soft, low whistle/ interspersed with other gut- 
tural sounds. It can be taught to pipe short 
tunes, and will also perform various amusing 
tricks. It is capable of great attachment for its 
owner, and will often mope and sulk if another 
person attempts to become familiar with it. 
Hybrids from this cross are very hard to rear, 
but are of beautiful plumage and more imitative 
that the bullfinch proper. 

THE GREENFINCH. 

The greenfinch is nearly the same size and 
shape as the canary, and is also known as the 
green linnet. It is of yellowish green plumage, 
somewhat gray on the back, and inclined to be 
lighter beneath. It is a sprightly and robust 
bird, but its song is only ordinary, and it is of a 
somewhat combative disposition. 
S 



66 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

THE INDIGO BIRD. 

This bird is a beautiful American songster, 
about the size of the canary. The top of its 
head is pure violet, shaded to deep indigo blue 
on the back, with a green tinge on the lower part 
of the body. The tail is brown, and the beak 
and legs lead-colored. Its song somewhat re- 
sembles that of the linnet. Besides the regular 
food of the canary, a little millet and hemp seed 
should be given it occasionally, and they also 
are fond of flies and spiders. 

THE CHAFFINCH. 

The chaffinch, also called the "shell-apple" 
and "beech-finch," has a sharp, thrilling song, 
which varies in different varieties of the same 
species, according to the different localities from 
which the bird has been captured, those having 
the "double trill of the Hartz" being considered 
the most desirable. 

The head is bluish-gray ; back brown ; wings 
black. The breast is pinkish-red, with the belly 
inclining to white, and it has bright yellow circles 
around the eyes. In addition to the regular diet 



HYBRIDS, OR "MUI^ES." 67 

of the canary they should have green food, ant's 
eggs, and mealworms occasionally. 

THE SISKIN. • 

The siskin is sometimes called the "black- 
headed finch," "gold-wing" and "barley-bird." 
It sings continually in a low, sweet twitter, and 
is a great mimic. It has a pretty mixture of 
black, green and yellow in its plumage, and is 
shorter and more thick-set than the goldfinch, 
and is very active and amusing in a cage — always 
climbing about, swinging by one leg with its head 
downward, and assuming all kinds of postures. 
It is of a somewhat greedy disposition, and is 
fond of throwing water over its feathers. The 
offspring of this bird and the canary are gen- 
erally of beautiful plumage and good songsters. 

THE NONPAREIL. 

This bird is called the "painted finch," or 
"painted bunting," and by some the "Pope," on 
account of his beautiful violet hood. He has a 
violet hood and neck; a red circle around the 
eyes ; the beak and feet are brown ; the upper 



68 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

part of the back yellowish green ; the lower part 
of the back, and the throat, chest and whole 
under part of the body, as well as the upper tail 
coverts, of a bright red; the wing coverts are 
green ; the quills are reddish-brown, tinged with 
green ; the tail is reddish-brown. 

It has an agreeable, low, soft song. It is 
subject to epileptic fits, but is generally brought 
around by being plunged head-downward into 
cold water two or three times. In addition to 
the regular food of the canary, it is exceedingly 
fond of flies and spiders. 

THE HAWFINCH. 

The hawfinch is a long and stoutly-built bird, 
of a drab-color on the upper parts and inclined 
to gray underneath. Most of the pinion and tail- 
feathers are black, having a large white spot on 
the inner vein. 

It has but an ordinary song. In addition to 
the diet of the canary, it should have mullet, 
cherries and peas. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Red Mites. 

h\ r\ HE most persistent enemy of the canary is 
^ the "red mite." It is a small brown or 
red insect, varying in size from the point to the 
head of a pin or the dot over the letter "i." In 
its habits it may be likened to the household 
pest — the bed-bug. Like the latter, it works 
principally in the dark, and dreads the bright 
light and the sunshine. Placing a bird for a few 
hours each day, for several successive days, in 
the sun, will often, with the aid of a bath, entirely 
free it from these vermin and drive them away. 
If your bird is restless, especially at night; 
if it is continually picking among the roots of its 
feathers, loses its appetite, is fretful and vicious, 
and the first feathers on the tips of its wings 
drop out, look out for the ''red mite." In order 
to ascertain if these insects be present, a piece 
of white flannel or soft white cloth may be laid 

(69) 



70 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

upon the top of the cage during the night, and 
should these insects be present, some of them 
will be found clinging to the cloth in the morn- 
ing. Their presence in a breeding cage may be 
detected, if the cage has a wooden back, by 
numerous little silver-colored specks around the 
upper corners. 

To free a bird of its diminutive but numerous 
enemy, it should be taken from the infested 
cage; a piece an inch long from the finger of a 
glove, open at both ends, slipped over its head 
to cover its eyes and nostrils, and insect powder 
rubbed into its feathers, especially under the 
wings and on the abdomen ; or the powder may 
be applied with an ordinary blower ; two persons 
being necessary to do this in order to not injure 
the bird. 

The bird should now be placed in an extra 
cage — which every bird keeper should have for 
an emergency; a small, clean wooden cage in 
which a foreign bird is imported will answer — 
and be hung in the bright light or sunshine. This 
treatment should be given every bird purchased 
from a bird dealer if it is to be soon mated, as a 



RED MITES. 71 

precautionary measure; it will not injure the 
bird, although it may appear stupid for a short 
time. 

The bird having been attended to, the cage, 
if a metal one, and not new, if it is infested with 
insects, should be placed in an ordinary wash 
tub, in a strong solution of lye water, and 
scrubbed thoroughly inside and out, until every 
joint and crevice has been saturated and 
cleansed; it should then be rinsed thoroughly 
and wiped perfectly dry. 

Another effective remedy is to use a small 
paint brush and a strong solution of carbolic 
acid— about one part of acid to ten parts of 
water — painting the cage thoroughly inside and 
out with this solution, going over the work two 
or three times. If the cage be a breeding cage 
of wire-and-wood, after it has become thor- 
oughly dry it should be blown with insect pow- 
der, not missing a crevice or joint. 

The wood-and-wire breeding cage may bei 
cleaned also by pouring gasoline intO' and upon 
every joint and then painting the surface with 
the same fluid, turning the cage two or three 



72 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

times. If intended to be used for breeding pur- 
poses, it should also be blown with insect pow- 
der. The rust on the wires of a cage is not in- 
juriousj but the green rust upon the wires of a 
brass cage, if corroded, is poisonous. 



K 



CHAPTER X. 

Diseases and Their Remedies. 

IKE animals, birds that are kept in confine- 
ment are liable to more maladies than 
those which have their liberty, some ornitholo- 
gists claiming that birds in their natural state 
are never ill. 

The maladies to which cage birds are subject 
are considerably increased by their having all 
kinds of delicacies, such as cake, candy, sugar, 
pastry, etc., which spoils a bird's stomach and 
produces a slow consumption. 

Inferior seed is a cause of many diseases to 
which a canary is subject; but colds are another 
cause. A bird is often seen placed in an open 
window, or hung outside in a chilly wind, which 
soon destroys its song and health. 

Asthma — Birds attacked with this disease 
have their breath short, often open their beaks 

(73) 



74 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

as if to gasp for more air, and when frightened 
keep them open for a long time. The cause of 
this disease is that their food is probably too 
dry and heating, possibly composed largely ot 
hemp seed, and the bird being kept in a room 
which is too hot and too cold by turns. As a 
remedy they should have only scalded rape seed, 
bread soaked in water and then pressed; also 
bread placed in boiling milk and well pressed; 
also lettuce, endive^ or water-cress and celery. 
Keep in pure air, out of draughts, and the song 
and health often returns after the autumnal 
moult. 

Bloating — The skin of the bird is filled with 
air and stretched like a drum. Pierce the skin 
with a needle and the air will escape. 

Broken Legs — Remove all the perches in 
the cage, place clean gravel in it to the depth of 
half an inch, and see that the bird can get its 
food and water without effort ; do not disturb it 
more than necessary. 

Constipation — The bird will be noticed 
making unsuccessful efforts to evacuate. Give 
it plenty of the green food which may be in 



DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 75 

season, such as celery, water-cress, chickweed, 
lettuce, apple, or salad. 

Consumption — The bird ceases to sing, be- 
comes thin, and loses its appetite; if taken in 
the hand, it is very light. It will, in nearly every 
instance, die in spite of all efforts made to save it. 

Diarrhoea — The evacuations of the bird be- 
come frequent and watery, causing it to become 
very weak in a short time. See that the bird has 
clean sand, give it spring water to drink, if 
obtainable, or place a rusty nail in the drinking 
water; change its regular food entirely, giving 
it hard-boiled egg, minced fine and sprinkled 
with red pepper, together with a teaspoonful of 
crushed hemp seed. 

Egg-bound Hen — Some young females are 
unable to eject the first egg and sit weak and 
puffy on the perch or bottom of the cage. Take 
the bird in the hand very carefully in order to 
not break the egg, and insert a common quill 
brush, dipped in castor oil, into the vent, and 
place a drop or two into the bird's beak. An- 
other remedy is to place a piece of bacon-rind in 



76 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

the cage, fastened with a piece of wire thread ; if 
she eats this she will be able to pass the egg 
easily. 

Epilepsy — This is caused by too great a 
quantity of rich food and the want of exercise, 
■\vhereby too much thick blood is produced. The 
bird should not be frightened or alarmed in any 
manner. If it appears to be hot and feverish, 
plunge it frequently into cold water, and pare 
one of its nails sufficiently close to start blood, 
a drop being sufficient to relieve it. 

Functional Derangement — This disease 
occurs to a mated hen. She will go through all 
the preliminaries of laying, but will be unable 
to do so, the constituent elements which form 
the perfect egg refusing to amalgamate. The 
lower part of the abdomen will protrude and 
appear red and swollen. If a valuable hen, let 
down the partition, separating the birds. After 
a few days, if the swelling has subsided, remove 
the hen out of sight and hearing of the male and 
try her again later in the season. 

Loss OF Voice — Should the male, after 
moulting or through exposure, lose his voice, he 



DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 77 

must be fed on thoroughly baked stale roll or 
bread, dipped in boiled milk until thoroughly 
saturated; then press out and mix with it a pro- 
portion of two-thirds of coarse barley or wheat 
flour, freed from the husk or bran; also place 
a piece of the rind of bacon in the cage, securely 
fastened. 

Long Claws or Beaks— It sometimes hap- 
pens that the perches of a cage are so small that 
the claws of a bird curl over from the opposite 
side and enter the flesh, or the beak becomes 
curved. Hold the bird up to the light and clip 
ofif the overgrown portion with a pair of sharp 
scissors. The "red ray" in beak or claws will 
indicate how far it is safe to clip. 

Moulting — This occurrence, though natu- 
ral, is very weakening to a canary. Its cage 
should be hung near a window or placed in the 
sun for a short time daily. Give it hard-boiled 
Qgg in addition to its regular seed, place a rusty 
nail in its drinking water, and hang the cage in 
a warm place. 

Obstruction of the Oil Gland — Canaries 
are sometimes troubled by hardness and ob- 

L.cfC. 



78 THE DOMESTIC SONG BIRD. 

struction of the oil gland above the tail, at which 
they are continually pecking; this should be 
anointed with a little fresh butter or vaseline, 
and if very bad, pierced with a fine needle before 
applying it. 

Clogged or Sore Feet — This affection is 
only found in a bird which does not bathe. The 
perches should all be removed from its cage and 
the bottom filled with water. This should be 
repeated daily until the bird acquires the habit 
of bathing. If the feet are sore the dirt must 
be removed with the aid of warm water and then 
anointed with butter or vaseline. 

Pairing Fever — Birds are sometimes at- 
tacked with "pairing fever" in the spring, or at 
the time when the inclination to mate is greatest. 
They sometimes cease to sing, become sorrowful 
and thin, and die. If a hen is within hearing of 
a male she should be removed. Place the 
affected bird near a window that it may have its 
attention diverted, and it will soon resume its 
liveliness and song. 

Rupture — This malady occurs generally in 
voung birds. The bird has a lean, blown-up 



DISEASES AND REMEDIES. 79 

body, full of small red veins, and the intestines 
seem to have fallen to the lower part of the body 
and become entangled. The rupture is some- 
times cured by a scant and simple diet, but the 
case is generally hopeless. 

Ulcers — Small ulcers sometimes form near 
the eyes or nostrils of a canary which is the 
progeny of two crested parents. Touch these 
ulcers twice a day with a small quill brush dipped 
m witch hazel or a solution of glycerin, alcohol 
and rose water — five cents' worth of each — 
which is also a sovereign remedy for chapped 
hands and face or lips. Feed the bird plenty of 
water-cress or celery. 

Vertigo — This is caused by a bird turning 
its head and neck so far round that they fall off 
their perch. Place a cover over the top of the 
cage, which will prevent the bird from looking 
up, for it is this habit which causes giddiness. 



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